It's an unofficial "fly school" weekend;
this would be Mike's 2nd trip to Iowa (he first came out over the
weekend of 5-14 - 5-15
in 2005); it was Derek's first. We all got lucky enough to depart
well before Chicago's rush hour. We met up just west of Madison,
and by 6:30 PM we were on the water at the Little Paint!

I sent Mike ahead to ply some pools upstream on
his own. I stayed back with Derek and fished a pool holding several
fish (mostly rainbows, but a couple browns too) that was relatively
open...less of a chance to get caught up in brush and trees.

It was truly a crash course...we both missed a
few hits before I finally connected with a big, KYPED Brookie! As
the last light faded, Mike showed up. He was definitely excited,
having landed 2 trout in the pools upstream. Not a bad way to kick
off the weekend.

After dark, we made our way to NEW lodging as the
Sportsmen's Motel was booked solid. My GPS took us on a wild ride
through some of the craziest gravel roads I've encountered in Iowa.
In the end, we passed it but found it when we turned around - Big
Joe's Campground. Let me just say it was DEFINITELY worth the drive...more
in tomorrow's report.